Suddenly

Joan Johnson

"I don't know if it's even worth it, Mames. You heard that guy. Josh's family is just too powerful." Grace's voice cracked as she tried to reason with her friend.

She wasn't quite sure where she stood at the moment. She felt as if a glass floor had fallen out from under her and she was hurtling towards a crash landing.

It hurt to be rejected by some old pompous man she had never met. It hurt to be judged. It hurt to be made to feel like this was her fault.

She looked up to Mamrie. The redhead's eyes had softened since her outburst in the office. Grace was incredibly thankful that she had been here for her. Otherwise, otherwise she didn't know if she would have been able to even walk out of the dick's office.

She had heard countless stories about abused wives having a hard time convincing others of their stories. Hell, she had even anticipated that things would be difficult. But she had never been able to prepare herself for the absolutely soul-punching feeling of rejection. She didn't know if she could do it for a second time today.

"Grace, no one said this was going to be easy." Mamrie reassured carefully. "That fucker is one man. And an asshole at that. He doesn't know you, he doesn't know your story. But it doesn't matter. Maybe this woman will be the right fit."

She held the tiny name card out for Grace to see.

The blonde could feel tears fill her eyes. At this moment, all she wanted to do was crawl into bed with Ayla and never come out.

She thought about her baby. It reminded her of why she was doing this, why she had to do this. Everything was for Aylie.

With a shaky breath, she looked to Mamrie and gave a slight nod. The redhead broke into a smile.

"Good, let's get across town."

Joan Johnson's office was a rather non-assuming brick number. It blended nicely with the surrounding brown brick buildings. One may simply walk by it if they weren't looking for it.

Grace and Mamrie weren't sure if this was a good or bad thing.

The two women shared a look before walking into the building with faked, forced confidence. They didn't want this Joan woman to see them as weak and afraid.

"Hello, we are here to see Joan Johnson?" Mamrie quickly told the secretary, a rather plump, greying woman with kind green eyes.

The woman gave the a kind smile. "Grace...let's see...Housely? You called about 45 minutes ago, right?"

Mamrie nodded, the pointed to Grace, who had taken to absently staring at an art piece that covered the wall behind the secretary.

"Good! Just fill out this form. Joan is with another client right now, but she will be happy to see you in just a few minutes." The woman handed them a clipboard, stuffed with a stack of papers and a black pen.

Mamrie gratefully took the clipboard, grabbed Grace's hand, and led them to a tiny, tacky looking couch straight of the the 90s.

"Let's see," Mamrie mumbled as she scanned the paper. "It just wants a short reasoning for the visit."

She asked no questions, she simply began to write down Grace's reasons for wanting a divorce.

"When is Little Bit's birthday?" She asked after about two minutes of writing. She wanted this to sound as professional and simple as possible. She wanted it to be convincing, there was no way in hell she was going to let another attorney make a fool out of Grace.

"December 8, 2015." Grace mumbles, she was still keeping herself busy starting at the various paintings around the room. She was glad Mamrie had stepped up to plate. Mamrie had always gone to bat for her, and she had so quickly ran away.

Once the papers were all filled out and returned to the secretary, the two of them were beckoned into a small office with a messy oak desk.

Five minutes later, a woman entered. Grace felt her heart skip a beat in her chest. She recognized this woman! From the odd look the woman gave her, she could tell she had been recognized as well.

Luckily, the woman didn't mention it.

"Hello, ladies. I am Joan, it is nice to meet the both." She extended a hand across her desk.

"I'm Mamrie, this is Grace," Mamrie automatically replied.

Grace watched nervously as the woman stared at her for a moment before sitting.

"So, we need a divorce," she began as she shuffled through the papers Mamrie had filled out. "And, let's see, soul custody of a Miss Ayla Grace Housely?" She looked at Grace over the frames of her black reading glasses.

Grace nodded, her hands knotting together in her lap. She could feel her anxiety levels rising.

"Care to tell me why?" Joan's question was not harsh, or sarcastic. She genuinely sounded concerned and attentive.

Mamrie opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by a raised hand from Joan.

"Grace, please."

The blonde looked like a deer caught in the headlights for a moment. Her eyes wide, her mouth opening and closing, not unlike a fish out of water.

"I-he- um- Aylie-I mean Ayla." She struggled to get the right words out. Mentally she cursed herself for sounding so stupid.

"Take your time Grace. I'm sure this is hard for you, it's hard for anyone. I've read the papers, but I need to hear it out loud. I need to know you are prepared to do this." Joan prodded gently.

Grace took a few moments to steady her breathing. She felt comfortable around this Joan, sure she was still scared as hell, but this woman seemed kind enough.

"I want to give my baby a better life, she doesn't deserve any of the shit I've put her through already. I should been protecting her, but I was too busy covering for him." Her voice was more of an angry hiss as she mentioned her husband. "I can't live like that anymore. I had to run away while he was out fucking some secretary for the weekend just so I could do all of this." She blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay. She would not cry again, not today.

Joan sat back in her chair and smiled. "Very well, I am going to be the one to help you."

Mamrie let out an audible shriek of happiness. Grace let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"Thank you! Oh God, thank you so much!" She leapt from her seat and threw her arms around the woman. She didn't know where the emotion came from, usually one would not see Grace anywhere near hugging a stranger, but in this moment it felt right.

"Sometimes we just gotta take the hand that's out to help us." Joan whispered in her ear before she pulled away with a wink.